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Showing 9 of 123 news items in Connectivity & Digitization

Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 17, 2024

Pacific island nation unveils blockchain-based savings bond ‘Palau Invest’ prototype

Photo Credit: Soramitsu. Retrieved from globalgovernmentfintech.com The government of the world’s smallest country has showcased a prototype of a blockchain-based savings bond system. The government of Palau, an Asia-Pacific island nation with a population of just 18,000 people, has unveiled the prototype of a blockchain-based savings bond system to be named ‘Palau Invest’. The prototype’s public debut follows the announcement just under three months ago that Japan-headquartered fintech company Soramitsu was working on a system to issue, manage and operate savings bonds using blockchain technology in an initiative supported by funding from Japan’s government. In a new announcement this week, Soramitsu states that the prototype system has been revealed ‘to demonstrate to the public of Palau how the digital savings bonds can work is now launched, so the people of Palau can learn about the system and educate themselves before bonds are issued by the Ministry of Finance of Palau’.

Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 17, 2024

Strong Partnership Helps Deliver Essential Services to the Remote Bougainville Atoll Islands

Excerpt and Photo from postcourier.com.pg The atoll islands of Ta’aku (Mortlock), Nuguria (Fead), Tulun (Carterets), Nukumanu (Tasman), and Nissan Island are the most remote of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The inhabitants of these islands have to travel 200 to 500km to reach Buka, often sailing in open, treacherous seas and sustaining high fuel costs. To bring services to these islands the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has to charter a large vessel safe enough to transport public servants and large enough to allow the delivery of several different essential services in one trip. Through the Community Government Institutional Strengthening Project (CGISP), a partnership initiative between the ABG Department of Community Government, the Australian Government and Government of New Zealand, the ABG chartered MV Athan Spirit to deliver solar light kits to over 3,000 island households.

Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 11, 2024

Pacific Islands Students Offered Space Education Opportunities

Excerpt and Photo from spaceanddefense.io Two private Australian organisations, One Giant Leap Australia Foundation and Cambrian Defence & Space, have joined forces to bring space education outreach to Pacific Island nations by offering scholarships to Pacific Island nation students to attend the Global Space Challenge 2024. The Global Space Challenge incorporates specialists from the space community, astronauts, and prominent space leaders to solve space problems and is available to students in years 7 and 8. This October, a larger number of Pacific Island students will be attending, thanks to the teaming of One Giant Leap Australia and Cambrian Defence & Space. One Giant Leap is a not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and careers. Cambrian is an Australian defence and space industry consultancy focusing on defence and space business development, space-based research, and creating pathways to space for microgravity research and innovative technologies.

Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 10, 2024

Island Schools: Leading Global Educational Innovation

Island schools have long faced challenges that are distinct from their mainland counterparts. Geographical isolation, limited resources, and demographic changes can make it difficult for educators in these regions to offer the same level of opportunity found in more populated areas. Yet, in the face of these challenges, island schools are also proving to be fertile grounds for educational innovation, creating unique learning environments that not only cater to local needs but also provide global insights into future-ready education. The Virtual Island Summit 2024 offered a glimpse into this growing trend through a session sponsored by the [Edge Foundation](https://www.edge.co.uk/). The session, titled “Island Schools – Leading Global Innovation,” highlighted how island schools across the globe are emerging as leaders in educational innovation through digital transformation, inclusive and flexible curricula, and international partnerships. Moderated by Olly Newton, Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, the session brought together educators and policymakers who discussed how island schools are overcoming challenges to deliver equitable and high-quality education.

Connectivity & DigitizationOctober 4, 2024

What I found on the secretive tropical island they don’t want you to see

Excerpt and Photo from bbc.com Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, is a paradise of lush vegetation and white-sand beaches, surrounded by crystal blue waters. But this is no tourist destination. It is strictly out of bounds to most civilians – the site of a highly secretive UK-US military base shrouded for decades in rumour and mystery. The island, which is administered from London, is at the centre of a long-running territorial dispute between the UK and Mauritius, and negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks. The BBC gained unprecedented access to the island earlier this month. “It’s the enemy,” a private security officer jokes as I return to my room one night on Diego Garcia, my name highlighted in yellow on a list he is holding. For months, the BBC had fought for access to the island – the largest of the Chagos Archipelago. We wanted to cover a historic court case being held over the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils, the first people ever to file asylum claims on the island, who have been stranded there for three years. Complex legal battles have been waged over their fate and a judgement will soon determine if they have been unlawfully detained.

Connectivity & DigitizationSeptember 26, 2024

VIS2024 highlights the need for collaboration among island stakeholders, governments

Decision-makers from the world’s islands alongside expert stakeholders from civil society, academia, and the private sector have highlighted the outsized impact that island communities have in global sustainable development goals throughout the week-long 2024 Virtual Island Summit (VIS). Hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees participated in the VIS discussing key topics for island communities including sustainable tourism, the blue economy, climate adaptation, and financing. Sponsors for the summit included clean transportation non-profit CALSTART, conservation finance organisation the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, education policy institution the Edge Foundation, ocean thermal energy conversion consortium PLOTEC, and the Cayman Islands Government. During the summit, President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo Batlle highlighted the need for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building between island stakeholders in his keynote address. “We need forums like this one to share successful experiences and for islands together to move forward,” he noted, adding: “Forums like this are essential, they are necessary. We must share our problems and our solutions, our successful projects because of course, as you well know, islands are never given anything for free – we have to achieve through our effort.”

Connectivity & DigitizationSeptember 26, 2024

Tradition goes Vertical: First Nations Storytellers tap into Traditional Knowledge

Photo Supplied: Vaimo’oi’a Ripley. Retrieved from abc.net.au The week-long skills training brought together eight participants from across the Pacific and Australia, including Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Nauru, Samoa, and Vanuatu. Two participants represented partner organisations Vanuatu Broadcasting Television Corporation (VBTC) and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). Providing participants with a mobile journalism (mojo) kit, the goal of the week was to learn how to plan, shoot and edit climate and traditional knowledge related stories from their local communities. For Gimuy First Nations Australian participant Talicia Minniecon, who has ties to Ambrym Island in Vanuatu, the connection with other story tellers was particularly meaningful. “Being Indigenous Peoples, one of the biggest things we do very well is connect with other people. Connecting with all the different delegates has been, for me, very enriching,” she says. “I’ve learnt a lot in terms of their cultural knowledge, their skill set, and what they bring to the table when it comes to a setting like this.”

Connectivity & DigitizationSeptember 26, 2024

A perfect place to build a film community’: a tour of Scotland’s island movie clubs

Photograph: Ian Rutherford/Alamy. Retrieved from theguardian.com Think of a film festival and images of celebrities, paparazzi and throngs of tourists might spring to mind, but one festival on a Hebridean island does things a little differently. The [Sea Change film festival](https://screenargyll.co.uk/sea-change-2024/), which runs from Friday to Sunday, has been attracting the public and the film industry to Tiree (population about 650) in the Inner Hebrides for the past five years. It’s Scotland’s only annual festival dedicated to celebrating women through film, and hosts screenings, workshops and talks, as well as beach walks, pilates classes and swimming sessions. The community centre becomes the main cinema and an after-party might mean a few pints at a pop-up bar rather than a glitzy hotel. Jen Skinner, from Screen Argyll, which launched the festival, says the idea grew out of film clubs on Tiree and neighbouring islands. “Our community cinema started with a projector in the cattle market: you needed a broom to turn it on,” she says. However, with support from Screen Scotland, Into Film and BFI Neighbourhood they were able to start programming films and connecting with other community cinemas. The film festival became possible. With the closest cinema on the mainland a three-day trip from Tiree, this is a cultural service for locals and visitors alike.

Connectivity & DigitizationSeptember 19, 2024

Chief Minister delivers biosphere talk during Virtual Island Summit

Photo courtesy: Isle of Man Government. Retrieved from iomtoday.co.im The Chief Minister Alfred Cannan has taken part in the [2024 Virtual Island Summit](https://tracking.vuelio.co.uk/tracking/click?d=_n2NOHdsuxbZN7jKhr_CnE_U7oSImrneXB-Zn9XTFW62ZKl8QahB-AbKs-nY8wx_em9mSFPVLsjDNoy0zaEu5YRhznoPEpESY9i76FQphpojKN2JqEiMuh4IYSvU_mxV3s696sUOoTwr7WxVau-Zk_BRZBjhyJE89pmggqL2u-i6T2NGfhbLps_joxxEvOfL2Q2), speaking in front of a global audience. Mr Cannan outlined the Isle of Man’s UNESCO biosphere status and the government’s commitment to sustainability. Running over five days, the summit seeks to connect islanders around the world and address the unique challenges facing island communities. The island’s biosphere status – awarded by UNESCO in 2016 – was the main theme of discussion, along with efforts being made to improve the Isle of Man’s sustainability.